THE GLORY OF CHRIST (2)
[p. 91] THE GLORY OF CHRIST (2)
John 2:11; John 11:4; John 11:45 - 48; John 12:10 - 19
JT For those who were not present this morning it may be said that we are considering the glory of Christ in John’s gospel. We took up the highest feature this morning, the glory which He had along with the Father, as He says, before the world was. He asks the Father to glorify Him with that glory, according to chapter 17:5. We dwelt on chapter 1:14, introducing the disciples to this great subject. “We have contemplated his glory”, John 1:14 the writer says, “a glory as of an only-begotten with a father”, alluding to Christ in flesh; as it says, “And the Word became flesh”, a condition that is intelligible to man.
What is in mind now is to show how, as in this incarnate condition, He became an Object of faith, and that is why the verse in chapter 2 is suggested: “This beginning of signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him” (verse 11). There can be no doubt of the bearing of this verse on the last days, our days, inasmuch as it is a question of disciples believing. They had believed, or they would not be disciples even in name; but evidently they had not believed in the full sense hitherto. Now the manifestation of His glory calls forth true faith on Him. It is “on him”, He was to become an Object of faith, a Person to be believed on.
Then chapters 11 and 12 are to develop this thought of believing on Christ. He is manifesting His glory in the signs, so that He regards Lazarus’ illness as simply an occasion for the glory of God: “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it”.
Ques You make an important point of this believing on Him. What does [p. 92] that mean?
JT That He is an Object of faith as God had been. It says later, “Ye believe on God, believe also on me” John 14:1. It is not only a matter of trust, as believing in a person, but putting your confidence in a person, that Person becoming an Object for faith; indeed the fact that He is this involves His deity.
Rem Paul says, “I know whom I have believed”, 2 Timothy 1:12.
JT Well, I think that is another phase of the matter. It means to believe a person or thing, such as ‘believe his writings’ or ‘my words’; it is there more a question of believing or trusting His veracity, the assurance of what He says or does. It is a different preposition here, it is “on”; the movement of the mind is towards that Person. It is to believe on Him in a general way as an Object of faith for man, such as God is. It brings out, I think, christianity. These signs that He did were the manifestation of His glory, His glory in the sense that He exercised divine power and became, therefore, an Object of faith.
WL Does chapter 2 emphasise the manhood of Christ, that is, Jesus? “This beginning of signs did Jesus”.
JT Quite so; of course ‘Jesus’ is very frequently used by John to designate the Person known here below.
AR Do you think you might say that from Abraham on God established confidence in persons, whereas the thing is now set out in Christ in manhood, so that the Jewish mind is transferred to the Person of Christ?
JT Yes. It is a great matter that such a One as He was that — the Man Jesus, the Man known among them, not simply “the Word became flesh”, John 1:14 but known by this name, by the historical name given to [p. 93] Him.
AHP Does the man in chapter 9 amplify that thought? The Lord having found him asked him, “Thou, dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?” John 9:35.
JT That amplifies it and brings in the thought of sonship.
AB Does it help to see that the preposition ‘on’ is the same as in chapter 1: “who is in the bosom of the Father”? John 1:18. It is a continuation of that in relation to the disciples.
JT Yes; the idea is the movement of the mind towards an object; the preposition means that — the movement of the mind in the matter of faith towards that Person. He acquires that status through the signs, so that the movement of the mind is toward the Person.
EP Is there some kindred thought in “those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”, 2 Timothy 2:22? I was thinking of your reference to the last days and the disciples believing on Him.
JT Calling on Him is the same idea; it brings in His exercise of power. Here He has become the Object of faith; He has that status as God has.
HB Would you say why the locality is mentioned?
JT Well, there is another sign there, you know, later on. It was to carry forward the accumulative evidence of what He is. There is another side in chapter 4, that is to say a family side — the man’s house. It is the same town and brings out the importance of localities, because while God defends the truth in general, yet where certain things happen in a locality we have to inquire why it is so.
If we were publishing an account of what we are saying now in London, Ontario, you might say, Of what importance is that? Leave out the name, London, that is nothing. But it may be something,
[p. 94] because localities have histories and the history of the place gives us some idea of why the truth is stated in that place; there is some reason for it. At Cana of Galilee there was a marriage, which is a very common thing, but there was never one like that, and it becomes amplified into the millennium. It is the last wine which is His best: that which is last is best. Then we have a child raised up there, and in the status of a son, the child of a nobleman, all pointing to millennial glory.
AR What you say about localities is very important, for Paul at Corinth could not say what he could say at Ephesus.
JT Quite so, and what he says at Corinth had a meaning because of local conditions there.
SJH You are connecting reproach with Galilee, but then Cana is mentioned as well.
JT Quite so, it was Cana of Galilee. It was evidently a characteristic town of Galilee. Galilee means reproach, but Cana was a certain place there. The marriage might have been thought little of and the nobleman might have been thought little of, but the Spirit of God brings them in. The Spirit of God is intensely practical.
JWD Do you think that at the time when John wrote this gospel christianity was becoming a series of abstract thoughts? Do you not think this outshining of divine glory must be worked out in connection with local conditions?
JT I think so; the instance at Cana is remarkable. We are apt to be extreme about prohibition and about nobility; but it says, “He came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where He made the water wine”. John 4:46. Notice the link between these instances. It goes on, “And there was a certain courtier in Capernaum whose son was sick. He, having heard that Jesus had come out of Judaea into Galilee, went to him and asked him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was about to die. Jesus therefore said to him, Unless ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe. The courtier says to him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus says to him, Go, thy son lives. And the man believed the word which Jesus said to him, and went his way. But already, as he was going down, his servants met him and brought him word saying, Thy child lives. He inquired therefore from them the hour at which he got better. And they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. The father therefore knew that it was in that hour in which Jesus said to him, Thy son lives; and he believed, himself and his whole house. This second sign again did Jesus, being come out of Judaea into Galilee”, John 4:46 - 54.
[p. 95] So that this was another connection with Cana. A nobleman or courtier is apt to be criticised in our minds, because we are apt to be radical, but radicalism is leaven. Or, we might say, We are prohibitionists; but we are simply leavened with wrong thoughts.
JST In this second instance is there the suggestion that the belief is reaching a wider radius than the disciples? In the first case it was the disciples, but here it says the courtier believed His word.
JT This courtier is an important man, not because he is a nobleman but because such a man as he should get blessing, because he is a genuine case. We are told, “he believed, himself and his whole house” John 4:53; it is his whole house now. The jailer is near this but hardly so pronounced because the jailer “rejoiced with all his house, having believed in God”, Acts 16:34. It is the jailer’s joy and faith householdly, but here it is that everyone in that house is a believer — the whole house believed.
JRH The steps describing this person are very interesting; first the courtier, then the man and then the father.
JT [p. 96] Yes, and the Lord called the child a son. His father called him a child: “Come down ere my child die”; John 4:49 it is a diminutive thought. But the Lord has a wider, bigger, greater thought; He says, “Thy son lives”, so that Cana of Galilee is ennobled in this way. The courtier lived in Capernaum; he lived away down. He said to the Lord, “come down”. The Lord was in Cana when the thing happened but the Lord did not go down, He said, “Thy son lives”, and in that hour the thing happened; so that it is to bring out the glory of Christ; that is the point, and there is believing too. It is a question of where we are in these matters. We get into the current of things in John’s gospel; faith is a current matter and we want to get into it. This courtier comes into it and I believe his is the only household in all of the gospels that is spoken of in this way.
JWD Why is it that the question of prohibition is such a difficult matter among us?
JT It requires consideration; one does not like to bring it in much. It is a real leaven; it condemns the Lord, and we think we are virtuous because of it.
JWD Would you say that sort of thing hinders the light of Christ’s glory being understood?
JT It does; it reflects on His glory, because the occasion in Cana is the beginning of signs; and it was no small quantity — a large quantity of water was turned into wine. It is mentioned in chapter 4:46, “He came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine”, John 4:46.
SP Jesus says, “Thy son lives”; the father would take on a greater apprehension of him as a son than as a child.
JT He would, and he would never be a prohibitionist. The Spirit of God connects the two signs together, it is a twin sign.
Judaism is very pronounced among the brethren. As coming into the households it means the children [p. 97] are not brought up rightly; they are not brought up in a balanced way. Temperance, or self-control, is the word. I am to look at things that God recognises and give thanks for them, and use them as they should be used.
AR What was Jewish in Galatia was a far worse epidemic than it was in Corinth.
JT Yes; judaism, legalism, that is what it was.
Rem You remember the instance of king Saul, he would not let the people eat. I was wondering whether that would suggest the judaising error.
JT It is in 1 Samuel 14. Saul in that particular case is putting something on; he is doing his best to appear religious. It is the first altar he built and he sent for the ark. He is trying his best to be religious. Jonathan began to use what belonged to Canaan, the flowing of the honey in the land of Canaan, and Saul says, You must not touch that. But Scripture says, “Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and to choose the good”, Isaiah 7:15. Think of how far judaism will go!
CAM Judaism carried to the full would rob the Lord of His glory.
JT Quite so, that is what they were doing in Galatia. So that He manifested His glory in this beginning of signs in Cana of Galilee and His disciples believed on Him; so that the point here is to be really disciples.
JTJr Wine would speak of joy. In Jotham’s parable, Judges 9:13, the vine says, “Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man?” Judges 9:13. Is there not that thought introduced in the wine by the Lord, what is to exhilarate God and the saints?
JT Quite so, and to carry it on into the millennium. It carries the thought of joy, introduced on earth through Christ, to millennial joy; the marriage should be characterised [p. 98] by it.
SJH What is the thought of “manifested”? Is it something more than revelation?
JT It is something that can be seen. It is a word John uses. “I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world”, John 17:6 as we had this morning. That is, the Father is brought out before them so as to be seen, so much so that in chapter 14:9 the Lord says, “He that has seen me has seen the Father” John 14:9; and again in chapter 21:14, “This is already the third time that Jesus had been manifested to the disciples, being risen from among the dead” John 21:14. It is what can be seen; anyone who has eyes to see can see it.
JRH Would you encourage us to look for manifestations of His glory in our meetings?
JT Indeed I would. One has seen it many a time, the way the Lord comes in, and at an extremity too. It is remarkable sometimes at meetings how we find ourselves in a tight place; that is how they were at the marriage: they had no wine, a critical state at a wedding! The Lord is told by His mother, “They have no wine”. Perhaps she thought she had special influence with Him, but He says, “What have I to do with thee, woman?” John 2:3,4. It is not to be on the line of nature, but still He takes notice of it. The vessels were there. What would happen in meetings unless there were some brothers the Lord could fall back on? They are not saying anything maybe, but they are there, and He says, “Fill the water-vessels with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he says to them, Draw out now”, John 2:7,8. It is a remarkable scene! So that we have plenty of wine, the best that has ever been. That often happens: at the end of a meeting you get the best. Sometimes the Lord allows the liberty to drop and the brethren get humbled and exercised, and presently He moves. There is no doubt about it — the glory is there.
CAM This is a crisis, and also as to the [p. 99] child.
JT This gospel is full of crises, and every one brings out the glory of Jesus in order that we should believe. That is why I thought we might have chapters 11 and 12 because they bring this great point out strikingly. There is a crisis in the house of three that are lovers of Christ; one of them is sick. Great anxiety comes in you may be sure with the other two, but the Lord says, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it”, John 11:4. The Son of God is glorified but it is for the glory of God. That opens up one of the most interesting parts of the gospel; so many are brought into it — the disciples, Thomas, Lazarus, Mary, Martha and the Jews. The outcome is the supper in chapter 12; it is not any longer Cana, it is now Bethany; then finally the Lord enters into Jerusalem. All this is the wonderful opening up of the glory of God in the glory of the Son of God. Faith is springing up all around. Lazarus was at table with Him. The point is to get into this current in John’s gospel so that we may be real believers, not merely coming to meetings like this in a social way. Young people do it, but let us come in faith, so that faith may grow up and be in our souls and that we may observe what the Lord can do for us.
JWD What particular features are connected with the idea of the glory of the Son of God?
JT The section begins with that really. Chapter 5 of course opens up the doctrine of the Son of God. The 6th, 7th and 8th are full of the doctrine of His Person, but it is worked out in remarkable settings in opposition to Christ, so that He is, as it were, forced to bring out the fact that “Before Abraham was, I am”, John 8:58. That is chapter 8:58. The man in chapter 9 is blind, not because he had sinned or his parents, “but that the works of God should be manifested in Him” John 9:3. So that in these chapters, 9 to 12, it is [p. 100] a question of divine sovereignty occasioning conditions in which to display itself; so that we have a blind man for that purpose and then a sick man. The sick man gives occasion for the glory of God, “that the Son of God may be glorified by it”, John 11:4. That is what we have to look at for the time left us, because it is the richest field there is in the gospel on this thought.
CAM Do I understand your thought that chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8 are the light or doctrine as to the Person? After that we have the idea of receiving; there is something living received by the persons. This man in John 9 sees the greatness of the Person of Christ, the Son of God; he received it through his faculty of seeing. Does that start a course of reception?
JT Quite so. The great fundamental word “received” that comes at the end of the preface (John 1:12) is to bring out what receivers of Christ come into, that is, the place of children. This man received his sight. Tell us more.
CAM I thought that was what was in mind, the receptive faculty was brought into living operation in chapter 9.
JT Quite so. The Lord says to him in verse 35, “Thou, dost thou believe on the Son of God?” “Thou, dost thou” John 9:35, that is, the man is distinguished. The chapter shows what he is; his very existence is to become the occasion of the manifestation of the work of God, and he is proving that. The “thou” brings him into prominence. The Lord says “thou” twice, it is emphasised, as He might say to anyone in such circumstances, You are a man of distinction. Not that He would inflate us at all, but you are a man coming into prominence now, you need to pay attention because you may miss the mark. He has done well, he has been cast out of the synagogue; he has been distinguished so far, very wonderfully so,
[p. 101] and all through his own loyalty and veracity in regard to the truth. Now that he is alone what will happen to him? He is detached — a dangerous position, and the Lord knows that. We must all be attached.
EP Does this bring in the thought of distinction in the spiritual realm? “Thou, dost thou believe on the Son of God?” John 9:35.
JT Quite so, that is what I was thinking. In the New Translation it is an emphatic “thou”, meaning that you have distinction. You get it by loyalty to the truth as you follow it. He was cast out; that is distinction, to be cast out of the religious world; but then, can you stay out? If you are detached from that you must be attached somewhere else or you are liable to drift away. Who can stand alone? “And Jesus said to him, Thou hast both seen him, and he that speaks with thee is he”, John 9:37. That is, attachment is involved; no one could be more attached than to be brought into association with the Son of God! So he says, “And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him? And Jesus said to him, Thou has both seen him, and he that speaks with thee is he. And he said, I believe, Lord: and he did him homage”, John 9:36 - 38.
JRH It is beautiful how the Lord attaches Himself to one who is wholly detached.
JT Quite so. The Lord brings Himself near to us and says, I am the One who is speaking with you; and the man says, “I believe, Lord”, and he worships Him. That is the way with God; the Lord would make worshippers out of us on those lines.
AR In delivering this man, it is not only from what is Jewish, but also from what is sectarian. We are not being delivered to set up another sect; the Lord is becoming the centre of [p. 102] a new universe.
JT Quite so. We are brought into a new world really, in believing on the Son of God; so that makes way for chapter 11.
There are three persons in Bethany, and the Lord loves them and would like to go and see them; but the glory of God is to shine there, the glory of the Son of God must come in: “that the Son of God may be glorified by it”. That is chapter 12.
AHP Much transpires in the two days that the Lord remains away: the person is allowed to die, and the disciples, the Jews and the sisters are brought to a very extreme point. They say, “Could not this man, who has opened the eyes of the blind man, have caused that this man also should not have died?” John 11:37. What would be the import of allowing that?
JT It is all on the line of which we are speaking. Things must happen to bring out this great thought — the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by these circumstances. So the Lord is not in a hurry to go, suggesting to us that in localities we have to let things work themselves out. You might send a good doctor to help Lazarus, but the Lord is not doing anything. Somebody may say, We cannot let things go on like this! But we might spoil the thing by coming in. Sometimes brothers from a distance come into a locality to work things out, but the Lord is staying away here. If God’s glory is going to be seen it has to be worked out locally. Of course we should avail ourselves in such cases of brothers who have the word of wisdom or the gift of government.
AHP We often find that if sounds of alarm are raised brothers begin to move around to seek to put a matter right.
JT It is a question of what brothers they are, whether they are fitted of God to help.
Rem It is a common complaint!
JT Yes, it is; but here the Lord is told about the matter; the sisters sent to Him saying, “Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When therefore he heard, He is sick, he remained two days then in the place where he was” John 11:3 - 6.
[p. 103] Those two days are to let the matter work out, because not only is Lazarus to die, but he is to be four days in the grave to bring out this great matter.
Ques Would those two days amplify His glory?
JT They are intended to do that. The Lord could have gone there and kept him from dying — that would have been glory; but that was not enough, because He had healed other sick people. He had healed the nobleman’s son and kept him from dying, but this time it is not that, but resurrection! That is the full thought. So he is not only to die, but to be buried; he is in the tomb four days!
EP Is that the reason why Paul goes on to chapter 15 of the first epistle to the Corinthians? Resurrection is in mind.
JT They needed that great truth developed because they were ignorant of God. It was a question of the glory of God and that the Son of God might be glorified thereby; all these thoughts must become facts. The Lord waited until they became facts, and now He comes. It brings out where Martha and Mary were, and above all, it brings out the tears of Jesus. It is a wonderful scene! “Many therefore of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he had done, believed on him; but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. The chief priests, therefore, and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, What do we? for this man does many signs. If we let him thus alone, all will believe on him” (verses 45 - 48). So that it is a question of believing on Him through all this, [p. 104] and in chapter 12 Lazarus himself is the occasion of persons believing.
AR Has this in view the raising of all the saints in order that the Lord may become attractive to us as the Centre?
JT And it is the proof that He is the Son of God. What enters into the testimony of the gospel is this fact of Lazarus and others like him. Faith is in that connection. He is declared to be “Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by resurrection of the dead”, Romans 1:4. Lazarus was really dead. The word ‘dead’ is plural in Romans 1; that word ‘dead’ is very solemn. Death is so common that we hardly stop to think of it, but what a real thing it us!
JST Lazarus is risen, raised from the dead; would that help us in regard to testimony?
JT It does; he was the dead Lazarus but he is raised. He carries forward the thought of death in regard to the town, but nevertheless he is a raised man, and therefore the whole of chapter 12 down to the verses read is to bring out this great matter of the glory of the Son of God, and that in Bethany. Bethany becomes a greater town than Cana! I think the brethren ought to look into the importance of localities, because of what state may be there or because of what God may have done there. There was no thought of the Lord going back to Cana to be entertained as he was entertained in Bethany. It brings out the comparative value of localities. Localities are always under the eye of the Lord.
SMcC Why is it called “the village of Mary and Martha her sister”? John 11:1.
JT Because it is their town; if you apply the idea of the local assembly, it is the idea that there are such sisters as those there. The town is taking character from them, and the Lord is going to add to that. Where He has His way He is given occasion [p. 105] and opportunity for the glory of God to shine and the glory of the Son of God. Would you not like to be in a meeting like that?
JWD So that in every locality this lesson must be learned.
JT We should leave the locality in the Lord’s hands, so that He may work out what He has in His mind. Of course, if a man has a gift of government, or the word of wisdom, then his word should be taken account of in these matters; the Lord has provided him too; but let us let the Lord work the thing out. That is the great truth or principle that was developed in Glanton. Many here may know that Alnwick meeting was not very much; it broke down outwardly and brethren in Glanton settled it by letting the ones they thought were right come over and break bread with them. They took the matter out of the Lord’s hands and the Lord did not allow that. The Lord put the meeting right at Alnwick, and He can put any meeting right if we leave the thing and let Him work it out, even if the brethren there are not very intelligent.
AAT Is that why Paul did not go to Corinth?
JT He might have gone there and settled the matter but he let the thing work out, and it did work out. They were repentant!
SP Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. I suppose it links with the Galilean position. I suppose we are inclined to think little of those who are small.
JT I have often thought of that. Galilee was under reproach anyway. There used to be a time when this country, especially the United States, was under reproach in that way and rightly, in that sense; but still the Lord always defends what is His own. It is like Moses’ second wife; apparently she was not very much, according to the way Miriam would value things, but Moses had married her and [p. 106] the Lord came down to the tent door to rebuke Miriam. So that it shows that if we are extreme in describing what is of God, however poor it may be, the Lord defends it.
John 12 is written to show how distinguished the meeting in Bethany was. “Jesus therefore, six days before the passover, came to Bethany”. It was six days before He died, and at the end of that week we have what is called Good Friday. This is called Holy Week and last Sunday was called Palm Sunday. That is what the religious world is made up of. At Bethany there is not an atom of what is here in the religious world; it is all outside of what is just judaism. The spiritual thought of John 11 and 12 has been judaised; it has lost its power, whereas our reading is to bring the thing back to us.
What a scene this is! Oh, that the meeting in London might be the occasion of a scene like this! “Jesus therefore, six days before the passover, came to Bethany, where was the dead man Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from among the dead. There therefore they made him a supper” (John 12:1,2). It is just what He values. There is one there who has been learning from Him and it becomes the opportunity for her to show how much she loves Christ. She has kept the pound up to this time, and in this way the glory is more delightful in this place as in her pound of ointment. The house is filled with the glory! It is the glory of Christ but carried through the hair of Mary; the house is full of it. She wiped His feet with her hair; she is in it, the saints are in it, as well as the Lord.
JTJr The feminine side is able to function now as the masculine side is put right.
JT Quite so.
Rem In chapter 11 it says, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus”. John 11:5. I was wondering [p. 107] whether chapter 12 is the reciprocal side, the returning of the love.
JT The point is they are worth loving, because in the beginning of chapter 11 we are told that Mary does this act. This instance enters into the whole position anticipatively; the Lord is going to reach this point in what He is doing. In the beginning of chapter 11 they are lovable, but particularly so in this scene depicted in chapter 12.
CAM It is a striking thing that the word ‘cosmetic’ seems to be derived from ‘cosmos’ (the word for ‘world’; it is connected with a woman’s world); but here we have, as it were, a world for the glory of the Son of God.
JT Your reference to cosmetics, tell us more about that.
CAM I am only referring to what you said about the hair of this woman, that it contributed in this scene of glory to the greatness of the Person of Christ.
JT Of course the cosmetics of the world today are repugnant.
CAM So that in the use of them Satan is endeavouring to deprive Christ of this glory that Mary gives Him.
JT Quite so; she laid down her glory — her hair is her glory — she prostrated that at the feet of the Lord, and then the fragrance poured out.
JWD The word ‘therefore’ in this passage is worthy of note.
JT Yes, it is a sequential passage. It is full of sequence. It is the fullest instance we have of the subject before us, and ‘therefore’ coming in indicates that one thing is promoting another. Everyone is shining at his best — not at his best naturally but spiritually — except Judas. You might say he is at his worst. The unspiritual man is exposed in such a scene as this!
JTJr [p. 108] Would you say that Lazarus would set out the masculine side that goes through death before it becomes effective; and then the feminine side comes up in a subjective way?
JT That is very good, the blending of the masculine and feminine side. Then we are told they were going to kill Lazarus because many believed on Jesus on account of him. And then we have what happened on the morrow (verse 12) with which Lazarus is connected in verses 17 and 18: “The crowd therefore that was with him bore witness because he had called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from among the dead. Therefore also the crowd met him because they had heard that he had done this sign”, John 12:17,18. That is what happens on the morrow. There is prolongation of the thought of the glory, the power to carry the thing forward. Now at the passover everything was to be burnt up, that is a finished matter; but that does not mean that power is not carried forward from feast to feast. There is great power in this feast at Bethany; it is six days before the passover, and there is one here who has got something that she has kept for a great occasion. This is a great occasion, six days before the time, and she has intelligence to know that it will be acceptable before the time. It is feelings and intelligence in Mary; she had kept it for the day of His burial, but it is acceptable before. You may have something for a later occasion but the Lord would give you to know that He can use it now, and she does it, and it is the great feature of the occasion. The fragrance of it fills the house!
Now on the morrow the thought of Lazarus is carried on, the masculine side. They want to kill him; he is suffering with Christ. “On the morrow a great crowd who came to the feast, having heard that Jesus is coming into Jerusalem, took branches of palms and went out to meet him, and cried, Hosanna, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. And Jesus, having found a young ass, sat upon it; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt” (verses 12 - 15).
[p. 109] That is, there is a great current of interest flowing. The devil is working in Judas and he is working in the chief priests, but the current is too strong, they are not gaining at all. The current is strong and the crowd have got palms, that is, a sense of victory in the position. There is prolongation of a great occasion, it is carried forward, extended, and the palms are brought in. “And Jesus, having found a young ass, sat upon it”. It is most important to get the fulness of the thought here of the glory of Christ, how the Son of God is glorified. He comes in at the right time Himself to bring it in, because we may be lacking in some point, although generally right. The Lord sees there is something needed and He finds the young ass; it is not provided by anyone, He finds it!
AR Is that why He says, “Fear not, daughter of Zion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt”?
JT It is a quotation of Scripture: the cry, “Hosanna, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel”, is a psalm brought into the position. The Lord values that. If we are going on well in a locality the Scripture must fit into the matter. They are quoting Psalm 118:26, “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of Jehovah” Psalm 118:26. Then in Zechariah 9:9 it says, “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh to thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass”. Zechariah 9:9. If that scripture is to be filled out, complied with, we must have the ass. We cannot have that scripture complete if we have not the ass. We must have the ass, and a young one at that, and [p. 110] the Lord finds one Himself so that He might fill out the position of glory.
AAT Are you applying that to a brother?
JT Certainly, a young brother, ready for the Lord to lay His hand on him and use him.
SMcC Paul had the young ass when he had Timothy with him.
JT Quite so. This one had to be found. So with Timothy, Paul had found him and he is with him. This is more the young brother in the place, one that is available to the Lord to fill out the position; because you cannot have this quotation from Zechariah without the ass, we cannot have the position in a concrete way without the brother it applies to. Where is he?
C,A.M. So that the words “on the morrow” bring it out.
JT It is one of John’s tomorrows. It is what comes the next day, the continuance of the thing.
SP Would the crowd coming out to meet Him suggest that the Lord is now securing the movement that He has set Himself for among the saints? In verse 13 the crowd “took branches of palms and went out to meet him”.
JT The palm is victory clearly, and they have got palms. The other evangelists do not mention the palms; John is the only one that does, as if it is the overcomer that does this thing. The carrying of such things forward requires overcomers, victorious persons.
The Lord finds the ass Himself, and that makes way for the quotation from Zechariah, so that it is a wonderful cumulative thought, Scripture brought in to show that it is authoritative. Scripture approves of this whole position.
Ques Cana of Galilee, Bethany and Jerusalem; the thing is all worked out to a final conclusion. Is [p. 111] the lesson learned and the glory of Christ seen in the way the thing is followed through?
JT Quite. Therefore He enters His capital here in glory. They heard Jesus was coming into Jerusalem; it is a final position, and so they meet Him in this way and the scriptures apply. Then it says, “The crowd therefore that was with him bore witness because he had called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from among the dead. Therefore also the crowd met him because they had heard that he had done this sign”. They “met him” — there are those with Him and those that meet Him: “the crowd met him because they had heard that he had done this sign”. So that it seems to me we have come to finality here in regard to the glory of Christ in testimony. He is carried into His capital according to the Scripture. Things must be done according to Scripture; whatever times we have, whatever feasts we have, we must bring Scripture in. It is a beautiful picture of the glory of Christ in the future: “Lift up your heads, ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in”, Psalm 24:7. That is the sort of thing.
RA It says they “went out to meet him”. The blind man was cast out of the synagogue but these are moving out in victory.
JT Quite so, and we all want to get into that current, and then we shall be victorious as the Lord is victorious. They are carrying Him into His capital.
JTJr Would the fact that the ass is used indicate that sin has been dealt with? The ass is usable; the will is broken.
JT Yes, it is the acceptance of death. Lazarus enters into all this in resurrection.
AR This is the last chapter of public testimony in John’s gospel; does it suggest that at the end of the testimony on earth the Lord is looking for this among His saints? For it says later on in the chapter, “But though he had done so many signs before them, they believed not on him” John 12:37. The spirit of apostasy was prevailing as regards what is public, but over against that the Lord is using the young ass.
JT Quite so. If there is anything missing the Lord will provide it, if we are subject. The ass is in subjection.
JRH Will you say something about how the Lord found the ass? It says, “And Jesus, having found a young ass, sat upon it”. It does not bring in the disciples there.
JT Well, it fits in with the last days, the Lord has to do things Himself. If we make room for Him He will supply what we need, so that we might be “perfect and complete in all the will of God”, Colossians 4:12. The Lord would supply what completes us, I think. The Lord would work up to the idea of the assembly in some small way; He would bring in what makes it complete.
AB “He sat upon it”. Would that show He had absolute confidence that it would carry Him through?
JT That is so. He found it. He knew it.